In Fairy Godfather: Straparola, Venice, and the Fairy Tale Tradition Ruth Bottingheimer proposes to correct the historical narrative of the emergence of the fairy tale in Europe and to recognize "Straparola's role as an originator in the history of modern fairy tale" (Bottingheimer 2002:3). Giovanni Francesco Straparola (c. 1480-c. 1557) is not exactly an unknown figure in folktale history.1 Hi...

Cosmological inflation, if it occurred, radically alters the picture of the ‘big bang’, which would merely point to reheating at the end of inflation. Moreover, this reheating may be only local so that inflation continues elsewhere and forever, continually spawning big-bang-like regions. This chapter reviews this idea of ‘eternal inflation’, then focuses on what this may mean for the ultimate b...

The breathtaking pace of global economic integration owes in large part to the globalization of economic thought embodied in general free market principles. Cautionary tales of the perils of free trade are often just that, cautionary. Most such authors are not against free trade per se; instead they attempt to draw attention to the need for the creation of institutions that can support such trade.

Published in 1632, Jingjiang’s Besotted with Bamboo Recluse’s The forgotten tales of Longyang (Longyang yishi ) is a short story collection focusing on contemporary male same-sex prostitution. Among the twenty tales, the stories narrate various forms of male prostitution from private agreements, to deals via go-betweens, to public male brothels. This diversity of venues and arrangements appears...